Jun 21-27, 2000

Jun 21-27, 2000 / Vol. 16 / No. 25

Time for the pain

Two hours of suffering is a tall order to fill — even for The Family Channel. But that’s what we received last Thursday night at Stardust Video & Coffee, when a master of self-abuse known as Zamora the Torture King spent a full 120 minutes mutilating himself for the public’s enjoyment. A rabid audience of…

Steve Schneider

‘More kicks

In theme-park dining, theme tends to count more than food. How else to explain the copycat menus from eatery to eatery? It’s like the research honchos decided people want burgers, chicken Caesar salads and light pastas. The only question remaining is whether they want to dine surrounded by NASCAR, NBA or country-Western paraphernalia. Pastamoré, at…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Cash registers

On a warm night in New Orleans, the Cash Money millionaires gather in the city’s trendy Warehouse District to celebrate label co-founder Ronald “Slim” Williams’ birthday with a surprise party. Juvenile, B.G., Lil Wayne and Young Turk, the rappers who essentially mint Cash Money, circulate around the room, admiring an ice sculpture carved with Slim’s…

Keith Spera

The lust boat

I could see right away this wasn’t going to be my kind of adventure. The dinner buffet was nothing more than a few pans of fried egg rolls. Beers were $6 a can. And the strippers on board were, on average, chubby and homely. There were other disappointments as well. After being on board the…

William Dean Hinton

Word wars

So now the campaign for Connie Mack’s U.S. Senate seat is down to two: Republican Congressman Bill McCollum and Democratic insurance commissioner Bill Nelson, and the battle’s already getting nasty. Last Friday, McCollum’s office sent out a news release blasting Nelson for taking “the low road — it’s a very sad start.” The release bases…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Emission problems

Smell that? Ah, yes, there’s nothing like the scent of smog. And there’s soon to be more of it. That’s right, Gov. Jeb Bush formally signed a bill eliminating automobile emissions testing in Florida, a week after his spokesman said eliminating the tests will not have any harmful effect on the environment. It’s not quite…

Orlando Weekly Staff

Hey, there’s a TV in here

Brazilian legislator Wilson Lima told reporters in April that he stood behind his proposal to require clubs and bars to maintain three restrooms (one for men, one for women and one for and gays and transvestites seeking protection from homophobic males), even though Brazil’s largest gay-rights organization said it was horrified by such a prospect.…

Chuck Shepherd

Coming up blank

I’ve finally figured out why karaoke is so popular. It’s because most people are some combo of sadist and masochist, only without the black vinyl fashion sense. It’s fun to watch people make asses of themselves and to, on occasion, be the ass in question. Another cool thing about karaoke is that it lets you…

Liz Langley

California misadventure

What does Disney CEO Michael Eisner want, anyway? Only to transform Disneyland — and all the land the Mouse owns around the 45-year-old theme park — into a miniature version of Orlando. Is that too much to ask? Eisner doesn’t think so. He has already committed 10 years and $1.4 billion to his dream. When…

Jim Hill

Taking a little artistic license

In the language of the theater, an “angel” is someone who finances a production, sometimes with the hope of making a profit, other times simply with the desire to be involved in the magic and excitement of “show biz.” You may never have thought about being a theatrical angel, but you are one now. Here’s…

Al Krulick

Toward a more perfect union

By and large, Disney service workers will tell you, the “magic” of the Kingdom is reserved for the guests. The workers, meanwhile, take it on the chin — then are expected to smile and ask for more. Many work long hours in the hot sun and still have trouble amassing a living wage. Of course,…

Jeffrey C. Billman

Iron Chef vs. grill boy Bobby Flay

Fukui-san! “Iron Chef” fans are surely booked for 9 p.m. Sunday, June 25, as the Food Network airs “Iron Chef NY Battle.” In this two-hour special, Food TV’s grill-boy du jour Bobby Flay goes mano a mano against fearsome Iron Chef Masa-haru Morimoto in a battle to the death — or at least through dessert.…

Richard J. Grula

Driven to distraction

The news that cell phones might cause brain tumors wasn’t a very big surprise, and frankly, I’m guessing the Swedish medical researchers who did the study on this subject got their charts upside down. I think it may be that brain tumors cause cell phones, or at least the behavior a lot of people exhibit…

Liz Langley

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